From Glasgow to Iverness

When asked about Scotland, we think of green highlands, Scotch (whiskey), kilts, Braveheart and two big Scottish cities that are told to compete with each other: Edinburgh and Glasgow (here in alphabetical order).

On our trip to UK we spent three days in Scotland. Not enough to really get know this country, but enough to have some impression. We decided to start in Glasgow, go North taking the West route alongside Clen Coe and Caledonian Canal to Iverness, turn round South-East and finish in Edinburgh. Below some impressions from our route North.

Somewhere between England and Scotland. Green, however low land with only some hills. If you look closely at the picture you will see a wall between the fields. Common in UK, not to be seen in other European countries. The picture lacks sheep – both England and Scotland are famous for wool and wool clothing.

Only ten minutes later (by car). The hills are getting higher and higher. We entered Scottish Highlands. The picture was made in mid-August. Some weeks later those darker stains in the green grass will turn violet. The hills and mountains are covered not only with grass but also with heather.

Glasgow. One of Scotland main cities. It was Saturday evening. You felt the party time. The main streets were really crowded. It was difficult to make pictures without showing people at close.

Unfortunately we did not plan much time for this city, as we wanted to spent the night in Stirling to get to its castle in the very morning before it gets crowded. If I had to plan the trip once again I would try to get there in the evening, enjoy a Scottish party, in the morning sight see in the city, go to Stirling, climb to the William Wallace monument (>>>), spent the night in Stirling (the views are breathtaking), and visit the Stirling castle (>>>) the next morning.

In Stirling we spent the night in the university campus hotel. Coming there on the Saturday evening had some appeal as we could discretely observe a true Scottish wedding party. We discovered that kilts and sporrans can have very but very elegant versions. The other thing we discovered was that when ordering a ‘steak’ you will not get a bigger piece of meat (rare or medium), but some other meat dish.

The next day was about highlands and lakes. We crossed the most beautiful part of Scottish Highlands called Glen Coe or Glen of Weeping (>>>). Afterwards we drove alongside the Caledonian Canal that it is a waterway consisting of natural lakes and artificial canals (>>>). One of its lakes is the famous Loch Ness.

On our way we stopped at one of the small cities on the Caledonian Canal called Fort William. The houses on the picture were typical for the region.

A bit of window shopping at the kilt shop. If you asked yourself what was a sporran – you can see it on the picture. It is a small bag worn with a kilt.

Driving alongside the Caledonian canal you cross it a couple of times. On the picture a view on the artificial part of the canal from one of the crossing bridges.

Iverness, the end of our trip North. We spent the night a bit below around the Loch Ness. On the continental Europe (mid-August) we had a heat wave with nights around 25 degrees Celsius. In this part of Scotland the night temperature was around 5-7 degrees.